Lothal
A planet in the Outer Rim Territories, settled during the last decades of the Galactic Republic. It was in a state of economic disrepair and invited the Galactic Empire on the promise of prosperity and security. However, following the reformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, Lothal was exploited by the Empire. In addition to exploiting the rich minerals, the Empire also hoped to establish a new hyperspace route.

There were few options for young citizens on the planet, apart from being recruited to join the Stormtroopers, Imperial pilot flight school or having to work at the capital's Sienar Fleet Systems factory, building TIE fighters. Lothal was also home to Sienar Systems Advanced Projects Laboratory, located in Central City. The planet was chosen for the research division as it provided plenty of open space for testing new spacecraft and other technologies for the Empire. The previously self-sufficient farming communities gradually became usurped by Imperial materials mining and factory complexes. These factories also polluted Lothal's skies and waterways. During the Imperial occupation of the world, a rebellion began to grow as the local inhabitants grew unsatisfied with the Empire's practices.

Ake's Tavern: a cantina located in the Northern market district of Capital City of the planet Lothal.

Capital City: the main population center on Lothal, a planet in economic disrepair that had invited the Galactic Empire on the promise of prosperity and security.

Capital City Starport: also known as Capital City starport, is a major spaceport located in Capital City on Lothal.

Imperial Complex: a large complex located in Capital City. It not only housed Imperial troops and vehicles it also was the location of the Imperial Academy and Imperial Flight School.

Imperial Academy: housed and educated recruits for the Imperial Army. It was overseen by Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko and Taskmaster Myles Grint. Despite its difficult training regiment, stormtroopers who graduated from Lothal's academy were often viewed as inferior to those produced elsewhere by off-world officers.

Lothal's Imperial Academy was a one-year junior academy. At the end of their term, graduates were expected to move on to a senior academy for a longer stint, then the very best were allowed to enter a specialized service academy for training with the Imperial Army, Imperial Navy or the Stormtrooper Corps, while the remainder went straight into the Imperial military.

Over the years, the Imperial Academy saw many recruits come through, as each crop of recruits only remained for one year at most. Sometimes the recruits were rumored to disappear, which was probably done under the shadow of the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor would take the recruits that Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko found to be most promising. One of the recruits he nearly took was Ezra Bridger.

At the Lothal Academy, recruits would be subjected to numerous tests; one such test requiring recruits to jump on moving platforms that were sometimes shocked in order to stop recruits from getting to the top. This test was made harder everyday by adding another challenge on top of the last one, such as the ability to move platforms by firing on it with a blaster. The first three recruits to the top received the honor of helping around the Imperial base on Lothal and getting to ride inside an All Terrain Defense Pod.

Imperial Flight School: the name of the Imperial Navy's system for training TIE pilots. It was not a part of the Imperial Academy, however. Instead, the Navy's best junior officers would transfer to flight school after they left the Academy system. Only the top five percent of Navy cadets could enter flight school, although at the central Imperial Naval Academy, this eligibility was extended to the top third. These restrictions reflected the demanding nature of pilot training, and flight school itself had a 90% failure rate, but with such strict measures in place, the Academy system alone could not provide enough pilots for the Empire.

As a result, additional flight school candidates included serving officers with proven potential, and skilled flyers from outside the Navy. The former group included men like T. Alvak, who had previously flown with a Navy shuttle unit for two years, while the most famous example of the non-military intake was perhaps Maarek Stele, who was put through flight school after just a two-month basic-training course.

Flight school emphasized a hands-on approach, putting the young officers behind the controls of TIE fighters in a training squadron from about half way through their course. Although this was not a front-line unit, it was normally part of a front-line wing, so that cadets would fly under combat conditions even during their training. Reflecting this, many flight schools were located aboard Star Destroyers. The Tir training school was on the Inflexible, while the training squadron aboard the Victorious, the flagship of the Qeimet fleet, also provided new pilots for the Scimitar assault wing. The Vengeance also appears to have operated a flight school under Captain Trox.

Jedi temple: was maintained by the Jedi Order prior to the execution of Order 66. It was one of many temples throughout the galaxy, and one of the few that were not destroyed by the Galactic Empire. It was a place where Jedi Masters would take their Padawans to determine their readiness to become Jedi. Kanan Jarrus brought his Padawan, Ezra Bridger, to the temple several years before the Battle of Yavin.

This temple had a hidden entrance, which could only be revealed by both master and apprentice working together using the Force to lift the exposed portion. This would rise in a corkscrew, counter-clockwise motion. If one of the pair lost focus, the outer building would sink back down into the ground.

Once inside, the apprentice must continue on alone, cut off from the master waiting at the entrance area. Should the apprentice fail the tests and never return, the master would remain trapped inside the temple forever, unable to raise up the building alone. Thusly, masters that brought their Padawans to take the tests put their own life into their student's hands.

Edged outside on the temple grounds were ancient symbols of the light side and dark sides of the Force.

Kothal: a settlement located on the planet Lothal. The settlement had a number of sellers and vendors, including Morad Sumar. Garazeb Orrelios and Ezra Bridger stole a TIE fighter from the Galactic Empire in Kothal.

Kothal hosted a grav-ball team called the Kothal Roughnecks that played the AppSci SaberCats in a championship-deciding match during the time of the Galactic Empire when Zare Leonis was attending the Junior Academy of Applied Sciences.

Main communications tower: controlled all communications on the planet during the reign of the Galactic Empire. It allowed Lothal to send messages throughout the planet, into orbit, and to other nearby star systems. The Empire destroyed the tower after the crew of the Ghost used it to broadcast a rebellious message across the planet and into other star systems.

"New Freedom" mural: featured in the old Senate Building of Lothal, on the back wall of the Senate Chamber. It depicted the rounded, white towers of Capital City, as well as Lothal's major industries of the past, namely fisheries and agricultural operations.

Northern Market District: also known as the Old Market.

Old Jho's Pit Stop: a cantina friendly to the rebels of Lothal. Named after its owner, Old Jho, the cantina was not particularly Empire-friendly, ignoring an Imperial mandate that the HoloNet News be played at all times. The crew of the Ghost would sometimes use the cantina as safe harbor.

Old Republic Senate Building: was a government building in Capital City on Lothal that was built during the time of the Galactic Republic. Following the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Senate Building was abandoned in favor of the new Imperial Complex, but remained standing despite the new government's intention to raze it. The building came alive once more following the fifteenth anniversary of the Empire, as the meeting site between the the rebel crew of the Ghost and Senator Gall Trayvis.

A distinct landmark of Capital City, the Old Republic Senate Building of Lothal was shaped like a round box crowned by a towering spire. Like most other buildings in the city, its outer walls were predominently white. Several starship landing pads sprouting from the base of the tower led to hallways hooking up with the Senate Chamber inside the building. The Chamber itself contained a podium with a speakers' stand, facing two aisles made of three rows of seatings. On the back wall behind the podium was "New Freedom," a striking mural that contributed to the building's fame. The Senate Building was directly linked to the sewers of Capital City.

During the time of the Galactic Republic, the Old Republic Senate Building of Capital City housed the governing body of Lothal. It was abandoned when the Galactic Empire replaced the Republic and built the Imperial Complex to be the new seat of power on the planet. Even after its fall into disuse, many citizens considered the Senate Building a valuable landmark. In 3272 LY, Imperial inspectors reported that the Senate site attracted criminal activity, and discussion arose as to whether the building should be razed. The HoloNet News anchorman and Imperial propagandist Alton Kastle argued that the Senate Building should indeed be destroyed, as it harkened back to "less prosperous" times when the Empire was not in charge

Sienar Fleet Systems factory: manufacture of TIE/Ln fighters as well as the new TIE Advanced v1.

Tarkintown: consisted of a loose collection of a few dozen buildings constructed on the plains of the planet Lothal. A number of moisture vaporators were dotted throughout the settlement and a central clear area acted as a town square.

Tarkintown was home to impoverished farmers of many species whose homes, such as in Tangletown, had been taken by the Galactic Empire when it needed the land they were built on. Any who attempted to fight back were arrested for treason, and the rest left with nothing. The residents named their settlement after Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, the Imperial in control of the Outer Rim Territories and the man responsible for the dispossession of the farmers.

As an enthusiast for the Essential Atlas, I was a bit dismayed that they made up a new system for the show, rather than picking an already established (if not fleshed-out) name. I'm guessing that they're doing that so that they don't have to do as much homework or be boxed in by the EU, even if they've already declared that the EU won't bind them.

For my own part, I think established stuff is a great way to be inspired for added-value creation. I find blank-slate creation annoying as all get-out.